Place the plain flour in a bowl or ziplock bag and season well with salt and pepper. Dredge the cubed lamb shoulder and set aside.
Heat 1 tbsp of the sunflower oil and brown half the lamb all over. Transfer to a casserole dish with a lid and repeat with another tbsp of sunflower oil and the remaining lamb shoulder.
Heat the remaining oil in the same pan and sear the lamb ribs, if using, until browned. Add to the casserole dish and sprinkle over the halved, thinly sliced onions.
Add the smoked paprika to the pan and cook for a few seconds before deglazing the pan with the lamb stock, scraping up all the bits stuck to the bottom of the pan.
Pour the stock over the lamb, add the saffron threads and the cinnamon stick and cover with a tightly fitting lid. If your lid doesn't fit tightly so that steam won't escape, wrap the casserole dish in a layer or two of aluminium foil.
Slow cook in the centre of the oven for 2 hours.
Meanwhile, bring a large pan of water to the boil while you pod the broad beans.
Simmer the podded broad beans for 4 minutes, drain and plunge into a bowl of cold water. Remove the second layer of light green skin off the broad beans to reveal a vibrant green inner bean.
At the end of two hours, add the broad beans and chopped apricots to the casserole dish. Season well to taste and slow cook for a further 15-20 minutes until the beans are hot.
Garnish with fresh coriander leaves and serve with couscous and flatbread.
the slow cooker version
Stick everything except the broad beans into a slow cooker and cook on low for 6-7 hours, adding the broad beans for the last half an hour.
Notes
You can replace the broad beans with a tin of chickpeas, and the apricots with dates or prunes, if you like.